Three weeks have past from our eviction date and we are still here. Facing a big unknown. Life is so unfair. At my age, I should be settled down, relaxed and having fun with my grandchildren. Unfortunately, I didn’t see my daughter and grandkids for 7 or 8 years. Not that we live very far from each other. Just non of us can afford to take this short journey. Even if I could get finances and get on the train, there is an hour and a half to get to my daughter using a public transport. That includes underground, over ground and/or bus. You might ask – “what’s the problem then?”
Well, while I can get onto the inter-city train, travelling through London with a large mobility scooter is a huge dilemma. There is no access from Victoria station to London Underground. Steps only. No bus will take me onboard with my scooter, and even if I managed to get to a wheelchair friendly Tube Station, I am not allowed to board with my scooter due to its size. Nothing special – just an ordinary 8mph mobility scooter.
NOTHING SPECIAL – JUST AN ORDINARY 8MPH MOBILITY SCOOTER
I could chance to drive it directly from Victoria to the edge of North London, but with 2 years old batteries, I guess, it wouldn’t even reach half way. So hey ho!
Thankfully, we have Internet and Skype, plus plenty of other apps and we can see each other on the phone/PC on demand. We all know though that it is an equivalent to seeing and “loving” your favourite movie star, and the reality of it.
The stress of life has been eating me from inside for years. Despite all the misadventures served to us gradually by government, services and generally – people, I still managed to put a smile on my face and carry on. The prospect of eviction though, was a proverbial nail in the coffin. I am silently deteriorating. After a long wait, we managed to get onto a council housing list. It is not easy to get an accommodation for 3 disabled people with various requirements. We understand that. What hurts me though, we can see many (council) properties available in the region, but we are seriously limited with what we can bid for. Out of, let’s say, 50 properties, we are entitled to 2-3. All of which are not suitable. Not that we are fussy. We already agreed to reduce the size, following an advice from the council that this way we will have more chances. In the meantime, we discovered that we could have better chances without downsizing after all. To change the application, we would have to start a lengthy process again. It’s a long story. As of today, there was no one property available to us for three days in the row.
So yet another obstacle. I refuse to fall though. Why? Because I need to show to those who don’t believe in me that there is no barrier that we cannot cross. The biggest one being the mental one. The stress and resignation are your worst enemies. There are no weak and strong people. We are all the same. The difference lies in the environment. If you are in a bad environment, surrounded by people who poison you with negative approach, you are prevented from revealing your inner warrior. That makes you think that you are a weak person. This is the very moment to separate yourself from such environment and seek someone who will see that warrior in you, and who will encourage it to rise.
Sometimes the bad environment means your family and/or closest friends. You still need to separate yourself from them, but only when you will find the others, who can help. You can come back later. After you are feeling better and believe in yourself. Never attempt a separation before finding your guidance. Loneness might be worse than anything else, where there is a mental health issue. It could do more harm than help.
If you fear that there is no one to talk to, visit this page and it will help you find someone (UK only): https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline
In US, I believe this service is FREE and can help finding what you need. Please let me know, if I am mistaken and I will update this info: https://mhanational.org/get-involved/contact-us
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